Police contacted over Pembroke Dock property row

PEMBROKESHIRE County Council has contacted the police as the row around the administration of property grants in Pembroke and Pembroke Dock rumbles on.

Concerns about the scheme had been raised by councillors, including Cllr Mike Stoddart, who has been at the forefront of a push for a full investigation into circumstances around a £1.46m Commercial Property Grant Scheme (CPGS).

Concerns relate to the Town Heritage Initiative (THI) and Commercial Property Grant Schemes (CPGS) in Pembroke and Pembroke Dock.

The two THI schemes in Pembroke Dock and Haverfordwest – costing nearly £18m in total - are funded primarily by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and support the regeneration of buildings in a conservation area or with a grade II or higher listing.

The £1.47m Commercial Property Grant Scheme (CPGS) is a part of a larger Pembroke and Pembroke Dock regeneration project and is mainly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Councillors at an extraordinary audit committee meeting last month carried out a site visit to properties in Pembroke Dock which included Coronation School, 16/19, Commercial Row, and 25, 27 and 29 Dimond Street.

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These had been highlighted as a concern by Cllr Stoddart who had prepared a five-page document outlining his “grave concerns about the probity” of the schemes, which questioned grant payments and whether some of the work was carried out, discussed in private at the meeting.

A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman said: “We can confirm that we have been in contact with the police. In the event that we are satisfied that a fraud has been committed against the Council, we will formally refer the matter.”

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